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rates atent RAMMER Robert G. Nutting, Glenview, and Robert F. Windstrup, Chicago, 111., assignors, by mesne assignments, to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army Original application @ctober 13, 1955, Serial No. 540,362.

Divided and this application January 11, 1957, Serial 1 Claim. (Cl. 89-33) Our invention relates to machine guns and more particularly to a ramming device therefor.

This case is a division of Drop Lock Bolt For Gun, Serial No. 540,362, filed October 13, 1955.

It is an object of our invention to provide for machine guns a ramming device including a feed throat throat, with the barrel and feed throat provided with respective axes intersecting at substantially the breech end of the barrel.

A pair of levers are disposed respectively adjacent the feed throat and the path of the bolt with adjacent ends of the levers linked together and the opposite ends disposed for respective engagement with the bolt and the cartridges in the feed throat for ramming thereof into the barrel responsive to the reciprocation.

For a more complete understanding, reference is directed to the following description and the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is an elevational view, partly in section, of a gun incorporating our invetnion with the bolt in battery position and a cartridge in normal position in the feed throat; and

Fig. 2 is a similar view with the rammer actuated by the bolt to propel a cartridge along the feed throat to the barrel chamber and a discharged cartridge case leaving the gun.

Accordingly, a gun 12 including a receiver 14 is provided with a barrel 16 having an axis 17 and a barrel extension 18 secured together and disposed for recoil operation in the receiver. Barrel extension 18 includes tines 20 of a fiburcated portion thereof, and a bolt 22 is axially slidable by means of rails 24 disposed for engagement with adjacent grooves 26 in tines 20.

Springs 28 engage receiver 14 to bias bolt 22 to a battery position for breech engagement of a surface 30 of the bolt with cartridge 32 to chamber the cartridge in barrel 16. Bolt 22 includes a device for firing cartridges 32. Barrel extension 18 includes a discharge gas piston 34 engageable with bolt 22 in the battery position for operation thereof in rearward and forward strokes responsive to the discharge and bolt 22 is disposed to grip the cases 33 of cartridges 32 in the battery position and to extract the cases from the barrel responsive to the rearward strokes. A stop 35 is provided in receiver 14 to engage cases 33 and pivot the cases from bolt 22 responsive to the rearward strokes.

A housing with a substantially cylindrical feed throat 94 is mounted to the top of receiver 14 so that such throat extends angularly downward to communicate with the inside of the receiver and the axis of such throat is arranged to intersect the axis of barrel 16 at the breech end thereof, as shown in Fig. 2 Provided in the upper portion of feed throat 94 is a mouth portion 92 to which cartridges 32 are delivered by a feeder (not shown). The cartridges are propelled from mouth portion 92 along feed throat 94 to the chamber of barrel 16 by ramming device 96.

Ramming device 96 includes a lever 100 which is mounted for rotatable movement in the vertical plane of gun 12 on a pin 101. Pin 101 extends through lever 100 approximately midway the length thereof to form a front portion 108 and a rear portion 110. A bell crank 98 is mounted for rotatable movement, also in the vertical plane of gun 12, above lever 100. Rear portion is joined to the rearwardly extending arm of bell crank 98, noted at 112, by a link 102. The other arm of bell crank 98, noted at 114, extends downwardly and forwardly into mouth portion 92 so that the front surface thereof is slidingly engaged by the base of cartridge 32 when supplied by the feeder to position the cartridge in such mouth portion. The rear surface of arm 114 is engageable with an abutment 116 which forms the end of feed throat 94 and when such arm and abutment are in engagement front portion 108 extends angularly downward into receiver 14 so as to be engageable by bolt 22 during recoil flight from batttery position. A cam surface 106 is provided on bolt 22 Where engaged by front portion 108 and thereby such front portion is moved upwardly to actuate arm 114 forwardly against the cartridge resting in mouth portion 92. A spring 104 biases front portion 108 downwardly for normal engagement of arm 114 with abutment 116.

Thus, when bolt 22 is in recoil flight, cam surface 106 engages front portion 108 to pivot lever 100 and through link 102 move arm 114 of hell crank 98 forwardly against the base of cartridge 32. Such movement is so rapid that cartridge 32 is propelled downwardly along feed throat 94 and in free flight through receiver 14 to enter the bore of barrel 16 in time for bolt 22 to complete the chambering operation during counterrecoil movement to batttery position.

Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail herein, it is evident that many variations may be devised within the spirit and scope thereof and the following claim is intended to include such variations.

We claim:

For a machine gun including a receiver with a bolt mounted therein for reciprocation between a battery and a recoil position responsive to operation of the gun and a barrel provided with a bore and fixed to the front end of the receiver, a ramming device including a housing fixed to the outside of the receiver, a cylindrical feed throat in said housing for passing a cartridge into the receiver from the outside thereof, said feed throat being disposed so that the axis thereof intersects the axis of the bore at the breech end of the barrel and cartridges propelled along said feed throat are directed into the bore after passing through the receiver for final chambering of the bolt, a mouth portion in said feed throat for receiving the cartridge, and a rammer including a lever pivotally actuated through engagement by the bolt during flight to recoil position and a bell crank including an arm portion connected to said lever for actuation thereby and another arm portion extending into said References Cited in the file of this patent UNITEDSTATES PATENTS Gebauer Aug. 1, 1939 

